Legends of the Underworld
by Jebediah Sprinklefield
Summary: A Stargate: AtlantisUnderworld crossover, so obviously AU. What happens when a young air force captain on annual leave in Budapest discovers the truth about the mythical immortals?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Ok, you know it's not mine, so I won't waste your time.

A/N: Argh, I swear these plot bunnies have been conspiring with plot piranhas! They've got my ankles and they won't let me go until I've done this story. I know I have been less than persistent with my past fics, but I really will try to keep this fic alive. It's set approximately seven or so years after Underworld: Evolution, and is set in and alternate universe to the Stargate: Atlantis we know. Mostly featuring John, but I will make a conscious effort to include other SGA charries at some point in time. I know the first chapter is rather short, but it is just a prologue. I'm not gonna promise you any monstrously long chapters, but I will try and make them at least twice the length of this one in the future. It's basically just a teaser, and setting the scene. Please R&R, lack of support leads to lack of updates, and the less I update, the less I write, and I'm just plain lazy, so I need a lot of petrol to keep this little car running, ok? Well, without further ado - here you go!

0o0o0o0o0o0

A small girl darted excitedly down the street, not pausing to heed her mother's anxious calls, "Lily! Lily wait! Stop!"

As John Sheppard rounded the corner of the small side street he had been walking on, he was bowled over by a small body. He stood, a little dazed, but otherwise unharmed, and helped the small girl that had knocked him over to her feet.

She looked to be about six or seven, with medium brown hair that had natural highlights of a dark shade of blonde. He mother rounded the corner as John was helping her to her feet. The mother looked rather young, she would have had to have been in her early to mid twenties, he supposed. She had shoulder length dark hair and soft brown eyes, unlike her daughter's blue ones.

"Are you alright there sweetie? I think you gave your mom a bit of a fright," he said, with a friendly grin. He directed the girl – lily, over to her mother.

"I'm terribly sorry, she's been like this all morning, I just can't get her to stand still!" the woman said with an exasperated sigh.

"Not to worry, I know how you feel. I had to baby sit my cousins for a week when they were that age, absolute nightmare!" he grinned, holding out his hand, "John Sheppard".

She shook it, returning the smile, "Selene Corvin, pleased to meet you."

"Well I'd best be on my way then, people to see… It was nice meeting you, ma'am."

"It was nice meeting you too, _sir_," she said, matching his grin.

"Please, call me John. Well, maybe I'll see you around sometime. Bye."

"Maybe. Goodbye," Selene turned her attention to the child as he walked off, "Lillietta Sonja Amelia Corvin! What did you think you were doing running off like that! You're very lucky it was a nice human you ran into!"

The girl looked at her mother with her best six-year-old version of puppy dog eyes, and Selene couldn't help but smile, " come now, your father will be wondering where we've got to."

0o0o0o0o0o0

What do you think? Should I continue? Please R & R. only with your support can I stick to mty guns and finally finish one of my stories.


	2. Fickle Fate

Finally updated! Whoo!

0o0o0o0o0o0

Eight years later…

It was late, John knew he probably should have left the bar a little earlier, but his hotel room, although it did have cable, didn't have the particular channel he had wanted to watch. The bar he had been at, besides being a little grungy, had actually been quite nice. It served ice cold beer _and_ had the channel appropriate for watching American football while in Budapest. Plus, they even played it at a reasonable volume.

The only big problem, really, had been the time difference, which was why Lt Colonel John Sheppard was making his way back to his hotel room at 3am, despite the fact that his presence would be required at a conference in the morning (not him, really, just his presence).

He, Elizabeth and Rodney had come for a diplomatic mission back to Earth, to explain to some of the other countries involved the importance of the Atlantis Expedition, the Stargate Program and, most importantly, their continued support. Not only was Dr Elizabeth Weir one of the Earth's foremost experts in the realm of negotiation, but she, Rodney and John all had first hand experience of life on Atlantis, and all of them had lived and worked with dozen upon dozens of people from various different countries.

The last time he had been here, John recalled as he began the five block trek back to his hotel ( it wasn't really far enough to require a taxi, besides, the walk would do him good), had been about eight years previous. He had only been a captain then, before his black mark, but even so there had already been a lot of people telling him that he was at the peak of his career and that he should enjoy it while it lasted.

Humming something that sounded suspiciously like "Walk the Line", by Johnny Cash, he stuck his hands in his pockets and took in the sites the very gothic-styled city had to offer. John felt slightly defenceless without his P-90, or at least his side-arm. _This is Earth,_ he reminded himself,_ no wraith here. You don't need to be constantly alert and constantly armed here._ "Oh, if that were true," he said wryly to himself.

A sound startled him out of his reverie. Jumping slightly, he drew his attention over to where the noise had come from_. It was just been a cat knocking over a rubbish tin,_ he thought with relief. That was, until he realised that a rubbish tin being knocked over was absolutely nothing like the sound he had heard. _Shit._

The sound came again, just a little bit louder this time, letting him know he was walking in the general direction of the source. John saw a rather wide, dark alley between two buildings to be the source of the eerie sound. It sounded a lot like a scuffle, but there was something different – unnatural - about it. Peering cautiously down the alley he saw about half a dozen large, menacing shapes congregated around a tiny human figure which being pinned to the wall at the end of the alley by one of the creatures. Quick as a flash one of the number took a swipe at the human figure, who moved it's head at the last second, leaving the large paw to make a solid connect with the brick wall. To John's surprise, the paw went almost straight through.

_Damnit! What is that thing!_ It was as strong as a wraith and just a fast. _That's irony for you!_

He collected himself quickly, trying to figure out the best course of action to take. He had to help whoever it was that was being attacked by these creatures, he knew. He also knew that he would stand about as much of a chance with these things as he did of finding a nice, friendly wraith to have a happy chat with.

Edging into the alley, Sheppard gladly noted that the creatures paid him no heed, instead focussing on their prey. He may not have been carrying a gun with him, but being military commander of Atlantis, he knew to never go anywhere completely un-armed. Drawing out a steel shanghai (slingshot), he pulled out a couple of Britannia silver ball bearings (his ammunition of choice. Regular ball bearings just didn't have the weight ratio he desired, and Britannia silver ones didn't cost much extra, even if they were sometimes a little harder to find than steel) and loaded it into the sling. Pulling back on the rubbers with practised ease, John drew the loaded pocket back to his cheek and released it with an exhale.

The small projectile found its mark, hitting a medium sized creature at the base of it's throat. The thing yelped in pain and turned it's menacing gaze on him, as did three of the other creatures, leaving two to guard their first prize.

Since there was obviously no route of escape available, John took the time to study his potential attackers. They were large, slightly wolfish, and very mean looking, with very large talons that looked to be also quite sharp, as well as large, sharp looking teeth. Add to that the fresh blood dripping from their muzzles, and these creatures were certainly up there with the Wraith on John's 'Damn Freakiest Things I've Ever Seen' list.

The closest thing he could think to describe them as was 'werewolves'. But that was just preposterous…unless you considered the fact that he was currently in holiday in Budapest to attend an international conference about the lost city of Atlantis, which was really in the Pegasus galaxy and constantly being hunted by vampiric aliens that sucked the life out of you with their hands. When you put it that way, not so preposterous to consider werewolves being real.

The creature he had struck with the bearing stalked forward, bearing is overly large canine teeth at him with a menacing growl. Gulping slightly, John fired another bearing at the creatures, this time striking one of the two that were still focussed on the person pinned against the wall, which he could now see was a teenage girl looking slightly scared. Firing off a few shots in quick succession, Sheppard managed to not only get the attention of all six beasts, but also managed to make them extremely pissed off and no doubt vengeful. _Great work John, what are you gonna do for a finale? Salt, pepper and marinate?_

The beast he had first hit finally pounced, pinning him viciously against the side of the alley, its large talons slicing straight through flesh and tendons. He could almost feel the claws as struck his collarbone on his left side. Luckily the other paw hadn't had such a direct hit and was only creating a flesh wound on his right shoulder.

John's head was bursting with the sudden surge of pain the impact created, crying out in pain as his vision began swimming ominously.

Apparently, though, the lean girl had a bit more to her than it seemed at first glance. Utilising the distraction John had given, she quickly went about taking out the creatures. By the time the rest of them realised what had happened, she had already taken down two.

Dropping John roughly to the ground, the other four beasts turned their attention back to the more imminent threat. As he made contact with the ground, John fell into a small forward somersault army-roll, as was second nature to him, even when wounded.

Blood was staining his trusty black shirt and already beginning to seep through his warm jacket. Focussing as hard as he could on staying conscious at least long enough to improve his chances of survival, he took stock of anything that might be of use to him. Thanking any deities that might have been listening, he snatched up a small semi-automatic berretta lying discarded on the ground and, pushing the pain to the back of his mind as best he could, checked the magazine._ Almost full. About time I had some luck like this._

Aiming to kill, John took off the safety and pulled the trigger with the ease of an accomplished marksman. Shooting until the target he had chosen fell limply to the ground, he then set his sites on another of the creature sand shot again. The girl had apparently been a hell of a lot stronger than he would have given anyone credit for, as she finished by snapping the neck of the last beast, albeit panting heavily and drenched in sweat.

By this stage John was already feeling very light-headed and woozy. He hadn't had that much to drink, had he? Oh, that's right, it was blood-loss, not drunkenness that was making him feel that way, he thought glumly. _Pity, because drunkenness is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than blood-loss._

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, rushing over to where he was slumped on his side, the gun hanging limply in his hand.

"Shouldn't-shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" he breathed heavily, closing his eyes for a few seconds and willing the world to stop spinning. The girl peeled back his jacket and gasped.

"Shit. You need medical attention _now_." She said, ripping some of her coat off and using it to apply pressure to the wound. She helped him up carefully and helped him to walk, letting him lean heavily against her as his vision continued swaying like a palm tree caught in crosswinds. "I'll take you to my house, it's not far from here. My parents will know what do to," she cursed under her breath again. "You just need to stay awake, okay? Dad used to be a doctor, he aught to know how to patch you up – hey! I said to _stay awake!_" she slapped his face a few times gentle until he squinted his eyes open wearily. "Come on, just stay awake, _please_. Besides, you can't leave me to carry you all the way to my apartment. Talk to me, what's your name? Where are you from, are you local or visiting?"

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, United State Air Force," he slurred out, digging through the haze that clouded his mind.

"Good, good, keep talking. Air Force, you say? You fly planes?"

"I fly anything," he managed with a cocky smile, a faraway look drifting across his face.

She only smiled worriedly in return and continued her attempt to keep him awake and talking, "so you fly anything, ey? Well, how are you liking Budapest?"

"Not bad," he said, his speech increasingly slurred, "although I don't care much for the native wildlife."

"I'd assume so – turn right here – personally I'm not a big fan of them either. Up these stairs, carefully now," she muttered, directing him into a small but neat looking apartment building, and eventually bringing him over to a door and knocking. "We're here, and dad should be home, he should be able to patch you up." Or at least she hoped he could. She really did.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sorry it took so long for me to update, I'm really bad at that sort of thing. Anyhow, what do you guys think? Also, you guys can decide what happens now – should John be able to heal just fine, or should he have to get bitten in order to survive? Or, should something entirely different happen? Review and tell me what you think. Everyone's opinion is welcome, as is constructive criticism. And just to note, I have no Beta, so all mistakes are a direct result of my own stupidity, and/or lack of coffee intake. Anyway, good, bad or downright ugly, review and let me know!

Ciao


	3. Coming To Terms

Kudos to those who added this story to their alert list and to those who have reviewed it, you've really made my day!

0o0o0o0o0o0

It took all of two seconds for the door to swing open to reveal a man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, with shaggy dirty blonde hair.

"Lily, what happened?" he asked, helping her inside with the nearly-unconscious man.

"Lycans, six of them. Can you help him? He…he saved my life, dad, please tell me you can help him!"

Michael Corvin looked grim, "I'll try my best, honey. Go get the stairs so I can get him up to the lab."

Lily ran to a corner of the room where a drawstring dangled from the room inconspicuously. She pulled it, opening a trapdoor in the roof from where a small ladder/staircase dropped, like the entrance to an old attic.

Michael easily hoisted Sheppard up the stairs, into a surprisingly large lab/infirmary full of medical equipment, scanners, etc. The room was about the size of a large recreation room and had no doors, other than the trapdoor leading from the apartment. Most of one side of the room was very practical medical equipment like in an infirmary; the other side was set up like a hospital pathology lab with various testing kits, microscopes, and various chemicals and stuff.

On the infirmary side of the room, Michael set Sheppard down onto a steel operating table, peeling away the now soaked jacket to get a better look at the wound.

The now unconscious Air Force colonel had a large shredded hole in his left shoulder, which was gushing a constant stream of blood. Through the crimson haze Michael could just make out a small splotch of white; the body. Quickly pulling over an X-ray, he noted that the collar bone was broken in two places.

A moment later, Selene was standing by Michael's side with fresh bandages and other various medical equipment, however, upon seeing the patient she shook her head solemnly.

"He's not going to make it." She stated, "he's already lost far too much blood, but ignoring that, the wound is far too much for a human to heal."

"I know," Michael replied, "but I thought I'd try anyway."

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do," Lily pleaded.

"I'm sorry darling. There is one thing, but it's not guaranteed…" Selene started.

"You want me to turn him, is that it?" Lily finished for her. "If it's the only chance he's got, then I'll do it." Michael and Selene nodded. Lily shook John gently, trying to rouse him. He groaned in pain and squinted at her.

"John, you've lost too much blood. I'm sorry."

_Just great,_ he thought, _I've fought wraith, lived in another galaxy and been military commander of Atlantis, and I'm gonna die in some backwater apartment on Earth._

"John, I need you to focus on me for a second. There's one thing we could try, but I don't want to unless you agree first." He nodded slowly, indicating for Lily to continue, "There's no easy way to put this. Werewolves, vampires, immortals, they're all real. If I was to bite you, I could try to turn you into one. It might not work, but…"

John nodded again. He was far to weary to question what he was being told. If becoming a vampire or something gave him enough time to get back to Atlantis, or at least say goodbye to Elizabeth, Rodney and the others, then it was worth it. "Do it," he mumbled, falling back into the black abyss of unconsciousness.

Lily cautiously lifted his head and leant it to the side. Gently, she bit into the right side of his neck, letting her virus filter into him. After a minute she set his head back on the table and settled down to wait. Wait for him to get better, or wait for him to die.

Michael had busied himself over the other side of the room, setting up various equipment he might need, and Selene had pulled over two chairs and set them beside the table John was lying on. Taking a seat in the second chair, beside her mother, Lily began to cry softly.

"It's all my fault. I let down my guard for a minute and the next thing I knew a pack of rouge Lycans had my pinned against the wall. John must have been walking past and heard the commotion or something, because just as they were going to get me he hit one of then with a slingshot and got their attention. They let me down and went after him and…Oh, I tried to stop them, but it was too late, they already got him…" she continued sobbing. Selene hugged her daughter, rubbing small circles on her back as she cried.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After a few minutes, Lily pulled herself together and wiped her eyes. "Why don't you go get some rest, mum? It must be working, because John's not dead yet, so you can bet dad will be staying up all night, but that's no reason for you to lose sleep as well. That way there will be someone to watch him later when we rest."

"Alright sweetie, but if anything happens, you come get me, okay?" Selene said, standing up and stretching a little. Lily nodded in reply and Selene headed back down into the apartment.

Lily stood up also and began to look the Colonel over. There was something familiar about him, but she wasn't sure exactly what. Looking at the wound she noted that the bleeding had decreased a little, which made her feel better for a second, until she looked at the bit and saw a very thick, syrupy, black liquid was oozing from it.

"Oh, shit. I think he's rejecting the bite," she called to her father. "I've never seen this happen before; normally if the bite is ejected they just die within the hour. It looks like his body is actually ejecting the virus."

Michael brought over a syringe and put it to the crook of John's right arm, drawing some blood.

"I'll run some tests and try and see what's happening. You keep watching him and make sure he keeps breathing," Michael said, going back over to the lab side of the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A few hours later, John's condition had not improved much, but thankfully it had not gotten worse either. The bleeding had stopped, and Michael had given him some pain medication. Looking carefully at the wound, Lily gratefully noted that it seemed as though it was beginning to heal. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her relief grew as Sheppard began to rouse. She settled her hand lightly on his arm.

"John? Can you hear me? How are you feeling?"

A groan came as her reply, followed shortly by, "like I've been run over by a truck, stamped on, then shot and hung out to dry. Where am I?"

"You're in my house. You might be feeling a bit foggy at the moment from a combination of the blood loss and pain medication, but it should pass. Let me know if the medication is making you nauseous, alright? I'll grab you some water, you're probably feeling a little dehydrated." She returned a moment later with a cup of water, which he gratefully drank in small sips. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was…I was walking back from a little bar where I'd been watching football, then I heard a sound…There were these things, one pinned me against the wall…then I was shooting at it, and now I'm here…How long have I been out and what were those things?"

"You've been out for a few hours now. Those things were werewolves, John. I know it sounds crazy, but…"

"Believe me, what I've been through the last few years, nothing sounds crazy anymore. Aw crap, I'm probably late for the conference, Elizabeth's gonna be pissed…" As if on cue, the cell phone in his jacket pocket began vibrating and ringing. Lily grabbed it from his jacket for him and clicked the 'answer' button, holding it to his ear.

"John, where are you? The meeting started well over half an hour ago!" Dr Elizabeth Weir's voice chided in his ear. He coughed a bit and tried to ignore his throbbing shoulder before replying.

"Uh…I'm not feeling crash hot. Can you hold the meeting without me, just for today?" he asked.

Elizabeth took a moment to mull over his request. On one hand, he was ranking military officer of Atlantis and really should be present at the talks, but on the other hand, she knew that John wouldn't ask for the day off unless he was feeling really, really ill. If it was just a cold or something he still would have gone to the conference. She still remembered the time he went on a mission with a cold, then ended up having save all of Atlantis from themselves, while he was still ill.

"Alright John, but I'm going to drop by and check on you when the talks are done for the day. I knocked on your door this morning before I left, but it was locked and you didn't answer. Do you want me to pick you up anything on the way back?"

"No, I should be right…Unless you feel like grabbing me some Tylenol or something like that? I'm alright without it for now, but I might need some later."

"Alright John. I'll give them your sincerest apologies and tell them you won't be able to make it. I hope you feel better soon. If not for your sake, then to shut Rodney up." That made John smile.

"Alright. See you later then, bye."

Lily ended the call and put the phone away for him, raising an eyebrow.

"My boss," he stated. "What happened while I was out of it? I feel…different. I can practically feel my shoulder healing itself, which is ridiculous in itself, if only because I can't really feel my shoulder at all. You must have me on the god stuff."

"We've got you on a saline drip and given you a dose of morphine. It's good that you can feel your shoulder healing that means the…treatment…is working. Do you remember what I asked you before you passed out again?" Lily asked, watching John concentrate on remembering.

"My memory is really blurry, but I can remember something…something about immortals…you asked if you could turn me? Did it work?"

"Well, you're alive. Dad's running the blood work now to see exactly how well it worked."

"Just out of curiosity, what are you. I mean, what will I become? A vampire?" The very thought of being something so Wraith-like made John's stomach turn, but he ignored it.

"Well, that's the million dollar question. It seems like your body rejected some of the virus, but you're healing so some of it must have worked. I'm a hybrid, of sorts. My mother has immortal and vampire blood, and my father is a lycan –werewolf – hybrid. So I'm a bit of a mutt, myself."

"To be honest, I didn't even know there could be hybrids."

"There can't, really. My father could only become a hybrid because he had some of the original strain of the virus in his blood, because he's a direct descendent of Alexander Corvinus, the first immortal. The legend goes that Alexander had three sons. One bitten by bat, becoming the first vampire, one bitten by wolf, becoming the first werewolf, and one left to walk the lonely road of mortality. My father was a mortal descendent, until he got pulled into the war." John gave her a questioning glance, so she began to explain, "For almost a thousand years there has been a great war raging. Vampires against lycans. The vampires originally had the lycans enslaved, by one day the daughter of one of the vampire elders fell pregnant to a werewolf. That vampire elder, Viktor, would not tolerate a joining of the species. He has his own daughter burnt alive while her mate was forced to watch. Her mate, Lucian, broke free and rallied the other lycan slaves against their masters. That was how the war began.

"Before I was born, Lucian tried to track down any descendents of Alexander Corvinus, believing that if one of them happened to have a pure strain of the virus, they would be able to be infected by both species, and therefore become the very thing that Viktor feared. Half vampire, half lycan, but stronger than both.

"Eventually they found my father and had him infected by both species. My mother, a vampire warrior at the time, left her vampire kin to join my father in a bid to make peace. Somewhere along the line they met Alexander himself and, before he died, he gave my mother some of his blood so that she would be immortal, not just a vampire. It made her stronger, as well as letting her go out in the sunlight.

"The war keeps going. We get closer to peace each day, but there a some, one both sides, that cannot bear to let go of old hatred. Does that explain everything for you?"

"Pretty much, yeah," John replied. "So your dad, he just got dragged into this? Sort of like, no offence, but sort of like I did?"

"Exactly like you did," Michael smirked, coming over from the other side of the room. "I'm Michael Corvin, Lily's father."

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard; it's nice to meet you Michael. I could have hoped for better circumstances, though."

"So could I. I'm sorry about what happened. If there was anything else I could have done, I would have."

"That's alright. So you're a doctor?" John asked.

"Yeah. Well, I used to be, anyway. Before all this happened. How'd you know?"

"You just seemed like one. Believe me, I've met enough to know how they act."

"I just finished doing your blood work. If you want, I can put some bandages on your shoulder, then show you." When John nodded, he set about dressing the wound. When it was done, he helped John over to a chair on the other side of the room and picked up various printouts from different machines. "By the looks of things, your body produces an extra protein of sorts, which attacked the viruses as they entered your body and forced them back out. It completely eradicated the lycanthropy virus, and the vampiric one. The pure immortality virus managed to take, but there's something in your bloodstream which is stopping it from taking complete hold. So basically you heal a hell of a lot faster than a normal human would, but it's still going to take time." He showed John a monitor that was attached to one of the electron microscopes and put in a slide with some of John's blood on it. He pointed out the immortality virus and the other things in John's blood, and John recognised what was happening.

"That," he said, pointing to the protein, "is my ATA gene. It must have conflicted with the lycanthropy and vampiracy, so it got rid of them. And that," he pointed to the anti-bodies that were preventing the immortal virus from fully taking hold, "is the anti-body Beckett ended up coming up with when I had the retro-virus. Long story. Long, highly classified story that if I told you, the US military would lock you up and throw away the key. Or kill you, whichever came first."

"Alright. Your shoulder won't be healed entirely for a few weeks yet, but you should be able to use it in a few days, and it won't hurt so much after about a week. For now, though, I recommend morphine until you can stand the pain without it."

"Ok, you're the doc. When can I go back to the hotel though, because Elizabeth said she was going to check in on me on the way back from the conference. Chances are she'll be bringing Rodney with her too, so I'd better be there with a good excuse."

"You should probably stay here for another hour or so at the very least, but we'll help you back to where you're staying and give you some doses of morphine to take with you. You'll need bandages, too, and I think we should keep your arm in a sling. Your right shoulder has completely healed, and so has the bite on your neck, so as long as you're careful and take it easy for a few days you should be able to get away with saying you fell and wrenched your shoulder or something. Lily told me you were just visiting, so when do you have to leave?"

"The talks are supposed to be open for about the next fortnight, so unless something comes up back at my base, we should be here until then. I may have to leave at the drop of a hat though."

"I'll have Lily check in on you every couple of hours for the next few days just in case there are any complications, and after that I want you to come in for a check-up every day. You're going to have to be very careful though. I don't want you walking around at night, and try and stay away from trouble. You're a part of something now, and there's nothing you can d to turn your back on it. Like it or not, every vampire or lycan you go near is going to know what you are. That makes you a potential target. When you go I'll give you something to arm yourself with."

"By the look of thins, you can handle a gun alright," Lily said, remembering his near perfect aim, even with a lacerated shoulder.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I'm the military commander of a very active base. I can do more than just handle a gun alright," he smirked cockily, lifting an eyebrow at Lily and causing her to giggle.

Michael and Lily went to get some much needed rest after being up all night and left Selene to escort John back to his hotel when the time came, giving him plenty of weapons choice and ammunition before they left.

"Do I know you?" John asked her, leaning on her slightly as she helped him hobble down the street.

"I think I've seen you somewhere before, but I can't be sure where." Selene agreed.

"Well, the last time I was here was about eight years ago on service leave, so it's understandable for you to not recognise me if I saw you before then."

"I remember now, you're the one who helped Lily up when she was being hyperactive and bowled you over in the street."

"Yes! That must be why I can remember you. You haven't aged a day!" John smiled.

"Immortality will do that to you," she sighed. "You haven't changed much either, you know. I'd never had a stranger in the street call me 'ma'am' until that day."

"Well, it's what I do, _ma'am_," John winked.

"So, _sir,_ this is your hotel?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

John was stirred from a listless slumber by someone rapping lightly on the door to his hotel suite.

"Just a minute!" he called to placate his visitor while he pulled on some jeans and a fresh shirt, careful not to tousle his shoulder while he did so. He checked carefully in the mirror that his bandage had not bled through, before slipping on a sling so that his arm didn't hurt quite so much. The morphine was beginning to wear off, so he should probably take another dose, but he decided to deal with his guest first. Pulling the door open, John was met with Dr Weir's critically analysing gaze, and a disgruntled looking Rodney McKay.

"Come in," John said, showing them both into the nice living space the relatively upmarket hotel had provided him with, and onto the cream suede sofa and armchairs. Elizabeth took one of the offered armchairs and John sat in the other. McKay bypassed the lounge room completely and headed straight for the kitchen in a quest for food.

"What happened, John?" Elizabeth asked, looking quite concerned.

"Uh…I had a little fall…wasn't really watching where I was going, y'know…wrenched my shoulder pretty bad, but I'm ok now," he lied smoothly, avoiding her eyes.

McKay appeared in the doorway that divided the kitchen from the living room, holding up a small glass vial, "And I suppose that's why you've got a bottle of morphine hidden in your kitchen?"

John paled.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Meet my friend, Cliffy the Cliff-hanger! Ooh, what's going to happen to John now, ey? To be honest, I have about as much idea as you guys do, so suggestions would be great. And on the honest note, I really hated this chapter. To me it jus seemed very rushed and distant, but I wanted to get something to you guys after making you wait so long. I realise that there are probably a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, but the longer I take to proof-read it, the less likely I am to post it and/or more chapters. Anyway, hope you liked it. Please R&R and make me a very happy person! Fuel the fire!


End file.
